Two 21st Birthday projects

Hello Friends!

    Hope all of you are well wherever you are. I’ve been on a hiatus for unavoidable reasons…a memorable, short, hectic 12 day trip to USA to leave my son at University, illness, computer problems and more and before I get busy around Christmas, I thought I better make an appearance on the blog & share the projects I made during my absence here.

    Today, I’d like to share two projects I made for my daughter’s 21^st birthday. Both were started here and completed at my friends place In Illinois before proceeding to Indiana. It was a surprise for my daughter but I managed to pass it to a friend of hers in my son’s dorm through a friend from her dorm without her knowledge. I later got in touch with her friends to instruct them which they did and she loved it.

My first project is a banner….

It was hung in her dorm room by her roomie and a friend when she left for dinner with the rest of her friends. 

Supplies used…

Card stock, holographic silver paper for rosettes, sheer ribbon & scalloped die cut circles & numbers. Both these were sent to me by Shirley-Ann from Stamping for Joy. A blog friend with a generous heart who always kept asking me what sort of supplies I needed. As I had this project in mind, I requested her to send me these die cuts, but she sent even more. Thank you very much Shirley-Ann.

My second project is an explosion box…

It was presented to her by her brother after they returned to the dorm for cake cutting and games. It was made with my daughter's pictures of the day she was born, christening, 3 months, 6 months followed by her birthdays, First Holy Communion and all the cakes I made for the themed parties she had (in all, 24 pictures on the innermost three layers of walls). On the outermost layer, on the inside I added a poem from her parents on one wall, separate ones from her brothers on the other two & just Happy Birthday on the last… all computer generated. The cake in the center was hollow with a surprise gift.

Supplies used…

Card stock, acrylic paint, scrapbook baby girl themed stickers, numerical stickers, paper towel roll, thick foam (leftover from upholstery), felt cloth, Offray metallic ribbon, Jolee’s boutique pearl flower gems, glue gun, Mini Bailey’s Irish Cream Liquor bottle, Lawn Fawn stamp-handmade with love, 21 key and satin ribbon.

   As the pictures were large, the box ended up into a 7x7 inch square (outermost walls) and reduced by 0.5 inches for the subsequent inner ones. After cutting the 4 layers and scoring  the lower edge of each wall, I sprayed the layers using a toothbrush, glued the 4 layers together, adhered the pictures, added stickers quotes, age and pictures on each layer. 

   For the cake I wrapped foam in two layers around the paper towel roll and an additional 3 inch wide layer for the lower tier cake. Next covered it with card stock, stuffed the surprise gift, covered with felt cloth, decorated with ribbon and flower gems. The liquor bottle was the cake topper with 21 sticker on it. 

   The outside of the box and lid were decorated with strips of scrapbook paper, then adhered the 21 key on top of the lid and finished off with a double bow.

   

  I'm entering my projects into the following challenges...

http://scor-pal.blogspot.com - mini book/album 
http://dianamlarson.blogspot.com - anything goes

http://justkeeponcreating.blogspot.com.au - anything goes
http://sweetstampsblog.blogspot.com - anything goes

   I must mention that as I forgot to pack up the supplies I meant to use to decorate, I ended up buying stuff from Walmart and JoAnn Fabric & Craft Store. In the process I also learnt that the custom of giving a key on the 21^st b’day is British which we too follow, while the American custom is liquor. I was thankful for accepting a bottle of liquor in-flight, enabling me to combine the British & American traditions. You may have also noticed that I used a blue colour scheme. That’s because Septembers birthstone is sapphire.

   Thanks for visiting friends and reading this long post. I hope you like what you see here and I will surely be back soon and visit you too.
Leanne